ARK: Survival Evolved (FINAL REVIEW)

From a Beta to the final product Wild Card Studios', "ARK: Survival Evolved" has evolved into quite the polished product. While I did notice some lingering issues in the form of a half-done "Survival Guide" tutorial section without control explanations included, and a couple of bugs the game impressed me enough to get a recommendation in my Youtube video review. I think the developer's dedication to the project through the Beta phase, and future content scheduled for release beyond the final version is enough to make me believe that the game will continue getting the love and attention it needs to make server play last. Server play, as you might have guessed is a key selling point for ARK. It allows for online coop, and competitive clan/tribe play on hosted, or non-hosted servers. For those of you worried about a more singular experience there is a singleplayer option within the base survival mode. If you prefer server play though you can find those lobbies ready for your enjoyment. The catch is you'll get the base game at the base price, and the DLC add-ons at a more premium price. The DLC in question adds in extra server options based on new unique in-game areas.

For those of you curious as to what ARK entails you can think of it as a Minecraft type of survival game where your created survivor awakens on a mysterious prehistoric island with a sort of science fiction mystery behind it. Your goal is to survive by hunting, and gathering materials. Materials which are provided by the creatures, inhabitants, and mysterious ARK drop pods that contain harder to find items that are already crafted. Speaking of crafting, as you level up your survivor through his/her hunting, and gathering you will be given points with which you can unlock engrams that allow you to craft a variety of useful items including tools, weapons, clothing, and building supplies. It is with these crafted items that you can establish your home within ARK, and take in the ambient environment around you which feels much like an exotic island without any immersion breaking music to kill the mood.

When it comes to survival maintaining your basic needs such as food, shelter, water, and clothing will be top priority until you can level up your survivor's stats enough, that he/she requires less maintenance. After that you can take on such tasks as hunting creatures, domesticating creatures, joining in tribe activities, and even exploring. Exploration in ARK is an open world experience that incorporates all major nature based features of the world. You travel across the land, into the water, and even the air. The environment, and the things that inhabit it create a living ecosystem that will not only help you sustain your survivor's well being, but also experience the world as if it were a living breathing place. As with any real world you will encounter situations like weather events that will cause your survivor to react accordingly. In the heat they'll need to hydrate more, and in the cold they'll need to find warmth. While ARK, your survivor, and the inhabitants within look less than realistic they do act, and react as if they were real. Off topic, I found that between the Beta to this final build there was a polishing of graphic details, especially in the way of special effects and textures. One thing that is really cool in all of that is the fact that the world you find yourself in changes in a day to night cycle. Much like it would in real life. With different wildlife appearing at different times of the day. Making your trek either perilous or more safe. Definitely mind the wildlife though, and know the aggressive species!

As far as the menu system, and menu navigation goes doing the simplest of tasks can seem overwhelming to you if you do not visit the "Survival Guide" at the beginning of your playthrough, and follow up with a glance at the "Options" menu controller diagram to figure out your controls. It should be noted that the options in ARK via the main menu listing are complex, and very similar to a PC game's setup. Beyond the usual sound, gameplay, movement, chat, and character customization options you'll find graphics options relating to VSYNC capabilities, graphics enhancements, and visual alterations. The character customization menu itself is fairly robust giving you several options including that of gender, skin color, height, width, muscle, and proportion. You can even name your survivor before sending them off into the ARK via the hosted or singleplayer modes.

The presentation as a whole is borderline indie, and halfway "Triple A". The start menu has been refined, and harbors a more proper intro screen. Additions like the "Survival Guide", and "Options" menu are streamlined, and made easily accessible. In-game the HUD, and UI both have been simplified as well, and are easier to understand with button prompts, and associated text to point you in the right direction if you find yourself confused. The world of ARK is brilliantly brought to life with details, and accents that make the obviously indie design seem less than indie. Where the game really shines is in the environmental and creature design leaving the survivor to look kind of primitive in a game design perspective.

For the sixty dollar core asking price you are getting a big gaming experience with lots of replay value. All throughout the Beta phase the developer was adding new creatures, and new crafting items to build upon what they initially had included. Along the way aquatic, land dwelling, and aerial creatures of the prehistoric real world sort were added in. Besides those newer creatures new hairstyle options were added as well as some futuristic, and modern day ARK gear that was put into place to open up the world even more to the gamer. For those of you looking to go beyond that core experience a season pass was added for an extra forty-five dollars which was available alongside the game's full launch. Even if you don't buy into the DLC season pass the game that you can play at the base retail price is enough to keep you preoccupied for a very long time.

Despite me not being a gamer who likes the survival crafting genre I saw potential in ARK. That's why I requested to review it. I think to the right person (cough,cough ... Minecraftian) it would be a highly impressive experience. As I said before the replay value is high, and you can sink enough hours into the game to make the asking price worth paying up for. Gameplay, though tedious in nature, is fun. Even for a gamer like me. Therefore it gets the Inferno's seal of approval. If you like Minecraft like games this might be something you'll find interesting. If not then you might want to pass.